CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb.
24)--Being second has been the key
to finishing first for Johnny Scott
during the first two nights of the
9th Annual Summit USMTS Winter
Speedweeks at the South Texas
Speedway.

In front of a
hearty crowd at the 3/8-mile clay
oval in Corpus Christi on Saturday
night, the 28-year-old from Cameron,
Mo., started on the outside of the
front row to start the 40-lap Summit
USMTS Southern Series main event,
but polesitter Bobby Malchus of Red
Oak, Texas, seized control when the
green flag was displayed.

Challenging the leader on several
occasions, Scott shadowed Malchus
throughout the opening laps while
Cade Dillard, Rodney Sanders and
Ethan Dotson tussled for the other
positions inside the top five.

Lapped traffic came into play
with 14 laps in the books, and after
three more laps Malchus made contact
with a back-marker which sent him
into a spin and out of contention
for the win.

That left Scott
to set the pace for the next
green-flag restart with Dillard,
Sanders, Dotson and Joe Duvall in
tow. Dotson, competing in just his
second USMTS race, slipped past
Sanders for third but that was the
final change of position among the
leaders as Scott cruised the final
22 laps to score his second win in a
row to kick off the 2018 campaign.

On Friday, Sanders paced the
first 35 laps before his driveshaft
exited the car and ending his night.
Scott was waiting to assume his spot
afterward.

Saturday was the
32nd win of Scott's USMTS career was
worth another $3,000 check.

Ahumada, who started
18th, raked in several additional
awards including the Eibach Spring
Forward Award for advancing the most
positions throughout the program, FK
Rod Ends Hard Charger Award for
passing the most cars in the feature
race, Wehrs Machine & Racing
Products "Trick Move" of the Race
Award and a contingency from Wilwood
Disc Brakes for finishing in the
seventh spot.

Overall, four
of Saturday's top 10 finishers are
contenders for the Grant Junghans
Rookie of the Year Award.

Sunday's event at the Texana Raceway
in Edna has been cancelled due tio
rain.

The USMTS will be back
at it again on Thursday, March 1, at
the Grayson County Speedway in
Bells, Texas, with an open practice
scheduled for Wednesday from 6-9
p.m. Friday will find the
mud-slinging Modified monsters at
the Kennedale Speedway Park and on
Saturday the series tackles the
Superbowl Speedway in Greenville.

This will be the only swing
through the Dallas-Fort Worth area
until the inaugural Summit USMTS
Southern Nationals returns to
Kennedale in November.

The
first points race in the USMTS Hunt
for the Casey's Cup powered by S&S
Fishing & Rental happens two weeks
later on Friday, March 9, at the
Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram,
Miss., which will also be a Summit
USMTS Southern Series points race.

On Saturday, March 10, the
series will move to the 'House of
Hook' in Meridian, Miss., at the
Whynot Motorsports Park, with the
final stop of the 9th Annual Summit
USMTS Winter Speedweeks taking place
at the Magnolia Motor Speedway in
Columbus, Miss.